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Further implications
The recent controversy surrounding the projection onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House of promotions for the Everest Cup has precipitated discussion of how the building should be used. Two factors appear to have provoked popular outrage.
One was the intrusion of 2GB radio talkback host, Alan Jones. Jones' aggressive interview with Louise Herron, chief executive of the Sydney Opera House, provoked widespread public disquiet.
Jones appeared to be using his claimed influence with the New South Wales government to exert pressure on a public servant charged with protecting the iconic building. prompt response of the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, requiring the Opera House management committee to allow the projection of numbers and the branded Everest Cup onto the sails of the Opera House created the impression that Berejiklian was capitulating to Jones' demands. In reality, the government had been negotiating to have these images displayed on the sails of the Opera House for weeks. At most, it is likely that Jones' intervention precipitated rather than determined the announcement. However, the image created was of a bullying shock jock, with interests in racing, dictating government policy. The second factor was the nature of this promotion. Advertising a horserace, and particularly this horserace, was unlikely to win immediate popular support. The Everest Cup has no established place on the New South Wales sporting calendar; 2018 was the second year in which the race had been run. Indeed, one of the reasons for Racing New South Wales wanting a major promotion before the race was to help to imbed it in the consciousness of local and international racegoers.
Lack of awareness equated to lack of sympathy. One commentator even suggested that projecting a promotion for the Melbourne Cup on the sails of the Opera House would have met with greater public acceptance as that race is at least seen as an Australian national institution with an entrenched history. Additionally, the Everest Cup promotion coincided with Gambling Awareness Week in New South Wales and prominent anti-gambling spokespeople, including Tim Costello and Stephen Mayne both of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, seized the opportunity to criticise what appeared to be government-enforced advertising of an opportunity to bet.What this combination of factors has done has been to train a spotlight on the management of the Sydney Opera House. There is now a growing concern over whether the Act regulating the circumstances under which the sails of the Opera House can be used for advertising purposes is adequate. The current promotion went ahead without an application having been made and there is no certainty as to whether such an application is strictly required under the law.
Commentators have noted the growing tendency over recent years to use the Opera House for promotions that could be considered commercial, such as those for Samsung.
Questions have also been asked about the appropriateness of promoting the NRL and celebrating Australia's recent Ashes victory. It will be interesting to observe the manner in which the sails are used from this point on.
The extent of current popular outrage appears to have made Racing New South Wales wary. It has indicated that it will not be seeking to use the Opera House in the same manner next year.
Other potential advertisers are likely to be equally hesitant. Though it is commonly claimed that no advertising is bad advertising, the fact that many people actually attempted to subvert the Everest promotion and Racing New South Wales claims to have received death threats is likely to give future advertisers pause before seeking to use the Opera House in their campaigns. Whether the laws surrounding the way in which approval is given to use the Opera House sails are tightened remains to be seen. However, it is probable that any government will be more circumspect regarding the types of image it proposes to have projected on the building's roof.
Premier Berejiklian has indicated that she will continue to promote Sydney through the most appropriate means available, including the use of the sails of the Opera House.
Despite this, it would be surprising if she or her successors did not proceed carefully in future regarding the use of the Opera House sails. One of the chants called out by those who gathered to protest at the Everest promotion was 'Goodbye Gladys'. Gabe Merkel, writing for AltMedia, has suggested, 'Though many government officials remain convinced that it is perfectly acceptable to - in the words of Prime Minster Scott Morrison - use the Opera House as "the biggest billboard Sydney has," the voters may say otherwise.According to research conducted by Griffith University and Transparency International, 85% of Australians believe most or all politicians are corrupt. With the state election fast approaching, the politicians who backed the promotion may find Alan Jones' influence has a nasty bite when it comes time for their constituents to vote.'